The advisory community still doesn’t fully understand the unique circumstances that make financial planning challenging for those in the LGBTQ+ community, and Long-Term Care (LTC) Planning takes that challenge to an all-new level.  Those in the community over age 50 are estimated to exceed seven million by 2030, and they stand to benefit immensely from those encouraging suitable planning.  Why?  Because the traditional defaults — spouse, children, family, legal recognition — usually don’t apply.

For many LGBTQ+ individuals and couples, planning isn’t just about finances.  It’s about protecting their dignity, control, and relationships in later life.  According to SAGE and the National Resource Center on LGBTQ+ Aging:

• LGBTQ+ seniors are twice as likely to be single and live alone.
• They’re four times less likely to have children.
• Many still experience legal uncertainty or lack formal caregiving protections.

These realities mean that Long-Term Care Planning is essential, and the advisor community should identify the problems and respond with appropriate planning solutions:

• Reliance on “Chosen Family” with no legal authority necessitates the creation of a legal framework described here: Long-Term Care Planning Requires The Proper Legal Framework

• Aging Alone means consumers should fund formal caregiving through LTC insurance or dedicated assets because they can’t rely on family support that doesn’t exist.

• The legacy of financial inequality (pre-marriage equality) promotes the use of modern LTC solutions to protect assets, access tax advantages, and plan around the missed financial benefits of the past.

• Medicaid complexity for unmarried couples should encourage appropriate LTC planning and legal asset structuring, but discourage forced spend-down due to lack of spousal protections.

• Discrimination in care settings prioritizes aging in place by designing LTC plans that favor home care first, making insurance with short waiting periods and cash indemnity options invaluable.

• Outdated or missing legal documents require updated estate plans, wills, or trusts, and advanced directives aligned to current law to ensure legal authority and control.

• Limited LGBTQ+-friendly housing or institutional care options make documenting preferred living arrangements with LGBTQ+ inclusive communities, private caregivers, or cash-flexible solutions a must.

Proactive LTC Planning can fully support the needs of LGBTQ+ clients through tax-advantaged insurance-based solutions with manageable underwriting, flexible benefit designs such as:

• Shared Care benefits (even without legal marriage)
• Zero-day waiting periods for Home Health Care
• Joint Waiver of Premium across linked plans
• Survivorship benefits to protect the surviving partner

While legal and marriage equality changed the legal landscape, having the right to marry doesn’t replace the need to plan for both partners.  Proper Long-Term Care planning, backed by financial tools and legal documents, gives LGBTQ+ individuals and couples more control over how they receive care, who makes decisions, and how they protect each other when life doesn’t go according to plan.

While the advisory community needs to do a better job with LTC Planning for every client, the LGBTQ+ community faces unique vulnerabilities that make the absence of planning even more dangerous.  Whether it’s aging without children, relying on chosen family without legal authority, or navigating care systems that still aren’t always inclusive, the consequences of inaction are amplified.  That’s why the conversation isn’t just meaningful — it’s urgent – and the advisor community has a responsibility to initiate it.

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